The Flapping of Butterfly Wings, July 28

There's some victim blaming going here. The party that failed to stop fascism partly failed to stop fascism because people tried very hard to keep it from stopping fascism. The Democrats have not had a substantial Congressional majority since, I think, the year 2000. If the voters wanted to vote out the Republicans--and remember, the Republicans stole the 2000 Presidential election--they could have done so at any time. We have Republican dominance because people voted for them. We can argue over why; generally I think racism and sexism, emerging in reaction to the successes of women's rights and Black rights in the 1960s handed the control of the country to racist misogynist reactionaries, who are now repeating the mistakes of the First Gilded Age, with added environmental and foreign policy mistakes.

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Marxist Speculations on the Vibecession

🎶 Marat we’re poor, and the poor stay poor / Marat don’t make us wait any more / We want our rights, and we don’t care how! / We want a revolution…now!—Marat/Sade

There is a long-standing discussion of why it was that the 2024 US public believed that the economy was poor when in fact it was the envy of the world, people at the lowest income levels were making gains, and the labor market was the best in a generation.

Slavery and the Wheel

Two notes to critics of the United States on why the founding of the United States was such a radical break, despite all flaws, with a few notes on the broader historical context.

“Small wheel turning by the fire and rod
Big wheel turning by the grace of God
Every time that wheel turn round
Bound to cover just a little more ground”
The Wheel

"AI:" Draining the Wellsprings

In last Wednesday's Richardson/Krugman discussion, extractive industries and "AI" were touched on briefly and I got to thinking about "AI." It is extractive, and what it extracts is culture. It seems that through the miracles of modern technology, the very rich have found a way to drain the wellsprings of culture.

The Flapping of Butterfly Wings: July 11

Various Bluesky remarks I wish to preserve

Freedom 250: Chaos on the National Mall

So, there’s a thunderstorm alert, the revelers have been asked to take shelter. Some are refusing. Almost all the buildings are closed, since it’s a holiday. Some have taken shelter in the National Museum of African American History and Culture, prompting the remark that conservatives have finally been brought to visit there. The Chinese scholars are saying Heaven has stripped us of its Mandate. The Jews are talking about Jewish space lasers.

Boize moi!

To a Socialist, on the Infiltration of the National DSA

The socialist Nathan Newman has written a good explainer on how it is that the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have both produced one of the worst policy platforms and some of the best politicians of our time. The entire piece is worth reading.